Lights for “it’s a small world” brightened the night when one of U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Derrick Poteat’s daughters flipped the large switch to launch Disneyland’s holiday season.
Poteat, his wife Clarice and five children live in Oceanside. He returned in September from a seven-month deployment overseas, his second in two years. He and his family were selected for the honor by the Anaheim 13th Expeditionary Unit Adoption Committee after the park reached out to the nonprofit group.
Disneyland decorates the attraction for the holidays with 50,000 lights on the façade, and more than 200,000 lights on the surrounding trees and bushes. The ride itself receives a holiday makeover, too.
The lights used on the attraction are a combination of incandescent and energy efficient LED lights.
The theme park has been doing this holiday makeover of the attraction every year since 1997 as part of its ever-expanding holiday offerings.
Disneyland’s holiday season includes a wintertime lighting show on Sleeping Beauty Castle, snow on Main Street, U.S.A., a parade and special holiday-themed fireworks.
At the other Disneyland Resort theme park, a new “Prep and Landing” Christmas sequence has been added to the “World of Color” that is shown nightly at Disney California Adventure.
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Small World lights up the Disney holidays is a post from: Around Disney